If you follow Hideo Kojima on social media, you’ll know how much the celebrated designer of games like Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding 2 loves movies. But while Kojima harbors some dreams to get behind the camera himself, he expresses doubt it will ever happen.
At the premiere of the Hideo Kojima documentary, Connecting Worlds at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, Kojima attended a post-screening Q&A hosted by Geoff Keighley.
Given that the documentary, directed by Glen Milner, partially delves into Kojima’s love for movies and friendships with Hollywood figures like Guillermo del Toro, Mads Mikkelsen, and Léa Seydoux, Keighley asked Kojima if he wants to direct movies in addition to games.
Kojima demurred, saying (via English interpreter): “For me, movies are special. And it’s so special, I can’t do it.”
While Kojima is advising on the upcoming film adaptation of Death Stranding, he added that he is "a perfectionist," and that his habits as a game director to keep iterating wouldn’t fly with movies that have comparatively tighter turnaround times than games.
“In games, no matter how much I make it perfect, it doesn’t end. Movies are two hours and I have to mix in everything, so I think I will never finish making it if I start making a movie. I’ll be doing it all day.”
After finding huge success with the Metal Gear Solid franchise, Kojima parted ways with publishing giant Konami in 2015. With partnership with Sony, Kojima re-established Kojima Productions as an independent outfit and developed the acclaimed 2019 game Death Stranding.
Shortly after leaving Konami, Kojima said he actually received “a lot of offers” to direct movies. But now that he’s the head of a game studio, Kojima says he doesn’t want to leave his staff behind to helm a film. Said Kojima: “If I were to film and direct a movie, I would have to get out of the studio for about a year, and I can’t do that.”
Still, Kojima has thought about emulating his heroes like David Cronenberg and Stanley Kubrick. He admitted that his age – he’ll turn 60 later this year – has compelled him to think about what else he wants to do while he’s still alive.
Kojima also expressed his opinion on AI, saying it should never "be above" human creativity.
